This past week, the hallways on campus and social media were flooded with information about the executive and councillor elections for the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA). It was a battle between the One Carleton slate, and the ‘no confidence’ campaign.
With the results in, a great divide was revealed across campus. Half of the One Carleton slate was voted in, while the rest of the positions were overtaken by votes of ‘no confidence.’
These results cannot be blamed on a lack of credible candidates nor a failure in upholding the principles of democracy. The fault lies with the student body for failing to do their research and think for themselves.
As an example, what stood out the most with this election was the amount of misinformation flying around campus. Overwhelmingly, students appeared to assume One Carleton was corrupt, and the election process was unfair. The ‘no confidence’ campaign ran on the basis of “a lack of candidates running in the elections making it undemocratic.”
The fact that this was a popular opinion shows the art of doing research and engaging with information has been lost on students. If you truly believe the election is unfair due to the lack of candidates, then do your research and explore why that might be.
This year, the nomination period was shortened from three days to two. Chief electoral officer Nada Ibrahim told the Charlatan that the Elections Office did their due diligence in advertising this change and the election. She pointed to posters around campus, Facebook posts, and updates on CUSA’s website.
With public notice having already been in place, students are in for a rude awakening if they fail to take personal responsibility and blame the system instead of themselves. If you are unhappy with how something is going, it is in your power to change it.
Instead of blaming the system for a lack of candidates, encourage people who you think would make a great candidate to run. Crafting a campaign is not an easy feat—it takes hours of hard work, copious amounts of energy and money, but it is doable. We are all students with equal opportunity to participate in student elections; there is no excuse for criticism without trying.
Yes this all seems like a lot of work and students are busy people. After all, just over 65 per cent of the student body did not vote at all. They chose to increase the volume on their headphones and walk quickly through the University Centre, avoiding the beaming faces of CUSA candidates on the campaign trail.
While politics might not be your forte, nothing is going to change by making assumptions or failing to engage at all. As a Carleton student, you pay tuition fees and the decisions CUSA executives make impact your life on a day-to-day basis.
Similar to how you would not give a stranger your debit card without screening them, do the same with the upcoming CUSA executives. They hold a part of your tuition in their hands and it’s the student’s job to hold them accountable.
Furthermore, accusations without evidence will get you nowhere. Before jumping to conclusions, challenge the theory. Look into the policies supported by candidates. Meet with a CUSA executive and ask them the hard questions, as this is part of what they are paid for.
As students at a university level, I expected more. I am disheartened by the lack of research, misinformation, and failure to think critically. With the upcoming byelection, I hope to see students engaging with the candidates and researching the issues.
At the end of the day, it comes down to your student experience and how your money is being spent.
